Casing machine

ABSTRACT

Upright containers are fed into the casing machine from a multiple-lane supply line, assembled into one tier, and the tier is transferred and reoriented by tiering fingers which deposit the containers in a tiering chamber. The open end of an empty case is manually positioned adjacent the tiering chamber, and pusher feet insert the tier in the case. A feature of the casing machine is a rocking differential which smoothly accelerates and decelerates the tiering fingers to prevent damage to the containers. Other features include a timing pin and chain mechanism which can be manually adjusted to control the number of tiers loaded into a case, rapid change structure in the zone where the tiers are assembled so that the machine is readily adaptable to handle a range of container sizes, and a lowerator mechanism under positive mechanical control for gently lowering the loaded cases to a discharge position.

United States Patent David F. Schlueter Hoopeston, Vermilion, Ill.;Myron C. Noble, South Bend, St. Joseph,

[72] lnventors [54] CASING MACHINE 5 Claims, 34 Drawing Figs.

Primary Examiner-Evon C. Blunk Assistant Examiner-Alfred N. GoodmanAttorneys-F. W. Anderson and C. E. Tripp ABSTRACT: Upright containersare fed into the casing machine from a multiple-lane supply line,assembled into one tier, and the tier is transferred and reoriented bytiering fingers which deposit the containers in a tiering chamber. The.open end of an empty case is manually positioned adjacent the tieringchamber, and pusher feet insert the tier in the case. A feature of thecasing machine is a rocking differential which [52] US. Cl 198/21,smoothly agcelerates and decelerates the timing fingers to 198/ preventdamage to the containers. Other features include a 511 meet B65 47 42timing pin and chain mechanism which can be ma y [50] Field of Search214/1 R, 6 j md to t l the number of tiers loaded into a case, rapid 164change structure in the zone where the tiers are assembled so that themachine is readily adaptable to handle a range of con- [56] Referencescued tainer sizes, and a lowerator mechanism under positive UNITEDSTATES PATENTS mechanical control for gently lowering the loaded casesto a 2,719,089 6/1955 Kerr et a1 198/30 discharge position.

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ATTORNEYS CASING MACHINE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION l. Field of theInvention The present invention relates to container-handling machines,and particularly to machines which insert a tier or tiers of containersinto a case. More specifically, the invention concerns casing machinesof the type including sets of aligned tiering fingers which liftmultiple-row tiers of upright containers from a centrally aperturedseparator adjoining the end of a container supply line, and whichreorient and transfer the tier of containers to a tiering chamber fromwhich they are inserted endwise into a case.

2. Description of the Prior Art The present invention concerns a casingmachine of the type disclosed in US. Pat. No. 2,650,009 to Kerr, andassigned to the assignee of the present invention. One disadvantage ofthe Kerr apparatus is that undesirable shock loads are sometimesimparted to the containers and to the driving mechanism of the machinebecause of the sudden engagement of a single revolution clutch whichdrives the tiering fingers that transfer the containers, and due to theinertia of the fingers and their almost instantaneous acceleration tomaximum speed.

Also, the tiering fingers must travel upward approximately 3 inchesbefore contacting the bottoms of each assembled tier of containers toallow time for a shifter mechanism to block the incoming containers thatmust be isolated from the tier. As a result, the containers aresubjected to shock and/or denting because the tiering fingers are movingnear maximum velocity at the time they engage the containers. Additionalshock and jarring is experienced by the containers as they aretransferred onto the floor of a tiering chamber because the tieringfingers which effect the transfer, travel at a constant velocity. Also,containers whose height is approximately equal to or less than theirdiameter tend to become disoriented when entering the tiering chamber ata high velocity and the top rows of containers tend to tip forwardly.

Pusher feet in the patented structure transfer the tiers of containersinto a case. The pusher feet trace a path similar to a parallelogram ina vertical plane, and the forward and rearward cycles are identical. Theresulting motion is quite rapid, tending to upset tiers of short cans,and the case flaps are sometimes torn by the pusher feet due to theirimmediate lifting in the rearward stroke.

Another problem with the Kerr apparatus is the difficulty of changingthe machine to handle other can sizes or to pack different numbers oftiers, because a large number of changeover parts and many hours oflabor are required to accomplish a conversion.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present apparatus is rapidly converted tohandle different sizes of containers or to load various numbers of tierseither by adjustment only, or by addition or removal of common parts andwith a minimum of parts peculiar only to one size of container. This isaccomplished by means including unique timing, counting, sensing andinlet control mechanisms.

An important feature of the present invention is a rocking differentialdrive mechanism, by means of which the cans are smoothly acceleratedfrom rest to maximum velocity, and are then decelerated as they aredeposited on the floor of the tiering chamber where they are assembledinto caseloads. This eliminates undue shock which might otherwise damagethe containers or their product. The tendency for container misorientation or spilling is eliminated by moving pusher feet slowlyforward to transfer the tiers of containers into the case, but utilizinga rapid return stroke of the pusher feet so that the overall cycle isnot prolonged. Further, the pusher feet are retracted to clear the casebefore being lifted at the beginning of the retracting stroke. Thisprevents the pusher feet from tearing a case.

Rapid changeover to handle a different can size is facilitated byforming the separator, where tiers of cans are assembled, of a pluralityof similar divider units, each having its own can stop and mechanismthat signals a full condition for a lane of cans associated with thedivider unit. The interspacing of the units and the can stops can bereadily adjusted to handle a different diameter and number of canswithout disturbing the signalling mechanism.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective of the casingmachine of the present invention, with the inlet end of the machine atthe right.

FIG. 2 is a perspective of the casing machine viewed from the sideopposite to the side shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a perspective of the casing machine viewed from its inlet end.

FIG. 4 is a perspective of the drive train of the casing machine.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged, fragmentary elevation of a shifter mechanismwhich controls the flow of containers into the easing machine and isviewed in a downstream direction.

FIG. 6 is a section taken on lines 66 of FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary perspective of two divider units whichcooperatively define a lane for a row of cans in the area indicated bythe arrow 7 on FIG. I.

FIG. 8 is an enlarged section taken along lines 8-8 on FIG. 7.

FIG. 9 is a perspective of a rocking differential indicated by the arrow9 on FIG. 4.

FIG. 9A is a section, at reduced scale, taken through the center of therocking differential shown in FIG. 9.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the input and output speeds of the rockingdifferential.

FIG. 10A is an elevation of a cam and follower arm, shown in the FIG. 4drive train, for rocking the differential.

FIG. 11 is a perspective of pushers, and their mounting and actuatingmembers, viewed from below, that push a tier of containers into a case.

FIG. 11A is a fragmentary plan indicated by the arrow 11A on FIG. 11.

FIG. 12 is a trace of the motion of the pushers shown in FIG. 1 1.

FIGS. l3l6 are fragmentary elevations of a synchronization control shownin FIG. 2, and illustrate successive operational positions of thecontrol elements.

FIGS. 17 and 17A are enlarged fragmentary plans of an inactive and anactive timing pin, respectively, which are part of the synchronizationcontrol.

FIG. 18 is a perspective primarily illustrating a lowerator whichsupports an empty case in filling position, and lowers the filled caseto a discharge position.

FIG. 18A is an elevation of a lowerator cam which actuates the loweratorshown in FIG. 18.

FIG. 18B is a fragmentary elevation of a trip lever mechanism partiallyshown in FIG. 18.

FIG. 19 is a schematic electrical control diagram.

FIGS. 20 and 20A are fragmentary, diagrammatic elevation and plan views,respectively, which illustrate the inlet end portion of the casingmachine and an associated supply conveyor.

FIGS. 21 and 21A are diagrammatic elevation and plan views,respectively, illustrating a mechanism for sensing when each of aplurality of longitudinal rows of cans in one assembled tier iscomplete.

FIGS. 22-26 are fragmentary diagrammatic elevations illustrating theoperational sequence of assembling tiers of cans and loading the tiersin a case.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT General With reference to FIGS.1 and 21-26, upright containers, such as cans C, are supplied to thecasing machine 20 by a 3 multilane feed conveyor 22 which is driven fromthe casing machine. The cans are divided into multiple lanes on theconveyor by conventional means not shown and are separated by lanedividers 24 (FIG. 1). The cans pass through a transversely movableshifter 26 whose vertical partitions 27 are initially aligned with thelane dividers 24.

The cans advance into a separator 28 having vertical partitions 29 inalignment with the lane dividers 24. When all lanes in the separator 28are completely filled to constitute one tier of a case, a can stop andsensing mechanism 30 in each lane is actuated to initiate a can transferor tiering cycle.

Certain drive mechanism of the casing machine is now actuated, causingthree sets of equally spaced tiering fingers 32 to rotate 120 about acommon support shaft. This moves shifter mechanism 26 laterally totemporarily interrupt the flow of incoming cans. The tier of uprightcans is lifted from the separator 28 by one set of tiering fingers whichreorients the tier 90 and deposits the tier on edge, with the cans in alying down position, in a tiering chamber 34.

After the desired number of tiers of cans has been assembled in thetiering chamber 34, pusher feet 36 are actuated to move the tiers into acase A which has been manually positioned over a nozzle 38 and issupported by a lowerator 40. The filled case is then lowered to adischarge conveyor or the like by the lowerator.

After the removal of the filled case, placement of an empty case on thenozzle 38 swings the lowerator 40 to its raised position supporting theempty case.

Power Train With more specific reference to the casing machine 20, poweris supplied from a motor M (FIGS. 3 and 4) through a speed reducer R toa power shaft 42. Shaft 42 rotates continuously and supplies powerthrough a sprocket and chain drive 44 to the feed conveyor 22.

A tiering input shaft 46 and a pusher-lowerator shaft 48 arerespectively driven by single revolution the clutches 50 and 52. Ontheir driving sides, clutches have sprockets 54 and 56 (FIG. 4) whichare connected by a chain 57 to a sprocket 58 mounted on the power shaft42. Shafts 46 and 48 are driven only when their respective clutches 50and 52 are engaged, but the sprockets 54 and 56 rotate continuously inthe directions indicated by the arrows in FlG. 4.

When the single revolution tiering clutch 50 is engaged, the tieringinput shaft 46 rotates in the same direction as the sprocket 54. Theshaft 46 rotates a shifter cam 60 and a differential cam 61 that-drivesone side of a rocking differential 62. The differential 62 operates thetiering fingers 32. The output of the differential 62 drives a sprocket63 freely mounted on shaft 46. Sprocket 63, by means of a chain 67,drives a tiering sprocket 64 which is attached to one of two spacedspiders 65 that are mounted on a tiering shaft 66.

One set of tiering fingers 32 is mounted on each of three cross-shafts68 which are carried by the spiders 65. A three-toone speed reductionfrom the differential output sprocket 63 to the tiering sprocket 64causes the tiering fingers 32 to be rotated 120 for complete revolutionof the tiering input shaft 46.

Upon engagement of the clutch 52, (FIG. 4) a constant rotation isimparted to the pusher-lowerator shaft 48. The vertical motion of thepusher feet 36 is controlled by a pusher lift cam 70 which is mounted onthe shaft 48 and actuates a pusher lift arm 72 by means of a pivotedpusher lift lever 73 having a follower roller engaged with the cam. Thehorizontal motion of the pusher feet 36 is effected by a pusher strokecam 74 which is mounted on the shaft 48 and actuates a pusher strokefollower arm 75.

As the result of mounting both the pusher lift and stroke cams on acommon shaft 48, their resultant motions are coordinated with alowerator cam 76 on the same shaft 48. The lowerator cam motion istransmitted to the lowerator 40 by a rod 77 (F103. 4 and 18A) which isactuated by a cam follower arm 79.

Variable Stroke Shifter The variable stroke shifter 26 (FIGS. 1 and 5)functions as a blocking device to interrupt the flow of containers fromthe feed conveyor 22. For this purpose, a shifter bar 78 is displacedone-half of a can diameter so that each of a plurality of the verticalpartitions 27 is placed in blocking relation to an incoming row of cansbetween the lane dividers 24 of the feed conveyor 22.

The shifter bar 78 (FIGS. 5 and 7) carries a depending shifter bracket88, and slides on a spacer plate 80. Each end of the spacer plate 80 issupported by and secured to a block 81, as shown in FIG. 5. 'Downwardlyopen recesses 83 in the spacer plate 80 locate and retain a plurality ofsupport arms 82, one of which is provided for each of the separatorplate partitions 29. The shifter bracket 88 has side ribs 89 (FIG. 6)that slide in grooved guide bars 90. The guide bars 90 are mounted on apair of transverse tie bars 84 that interconnect longitudinal side framemembers 86. The shifter bracket 88 (FIG. 5) includes a depending arm 91having a series of holes 92 which provide for adjustment of the amountof lateral shifter stroke for various diameter cans.

Thus, a follower roller 94 is mounted in a selected hole 92corresponding to the desired shifter bar displacement, and so mounted,rides in a slot 96 in a shifter cam follower lever 98. The lever 98 ispivotally mounted to the frame of the machine at 99 and is oscillatedbetween the phantom and full line positions shown by a cam follower 100which is engaged with the shifter cam 60.

Separator After passing between the partitions 27 through the shifter 26(FIG. 1) the cans C enter the lanes defined by he partitions 29 (FIG. 7)of the separator 28. Opposite site sides of the cans are supported byramps 101, adjacent pairs of which are spaced apart so that the tieringfingers 32 can pass upward between the ramps to lift the containers. Theseparator 28 includes multiple divider units 102. Each divider unit isprovided with a pair of the ramps 101, one of the partitions 29, and isremovably mounted on the tie bars 84 by means of a bolt 104 recessed inthe support arm 82. The tie bars 84 cooperatively form a T-shaped slot105, and a square nut 106 which fastens the bolt 104 is captured in theslot 105.

The divider units 102 are positioned to accept a particular diameter ofcan between adjacent partitions 29 by first removing the spacer plate80, and then loosening the bolts 104 and sliding the support arms 82along the tie bars 84. Thus, by substituting a different spacer plate80, the interspacing of the partitions 29 can be changed to accept adifferent can size. if a different number of lanes are required, as wellas different lane sizes, the divider units 102 are readily removed bysliding the loosened unit along the slot 105 to a cross-slot 108 (H6.7). The divider unit is then removed by sliding it forwardly out of thecross-slot. Other units can be added in the obvious, reverse procedure.A

Can stop and Sensing Mechanism With continued reference to H6. 7, one ofthe can stop and sensing mechanisms 30 is mounted on each divider unit102. lts purposes are to control the number of cans allowed toaccumulate in each lane of the separator 28, to control the longitudinalposition of the row of cans so that the cans do not partially extendinto the shifter 26, and to actuate a control circuit when this lane andthe other lanes are full of cans.

The can stop and sensing mechanism 30 for each lane is actuated by theleading can in the row of cans pressing against an upstanding stopfinger 110 which is mounted for limited displacement in a downstreamdirection. When so displaced, the mechanism 30 actuates a flag 112 thatinterrupts a light beam LB projected across the casing machine. When alllanes of the separator 28 are completely filled and all of the flags 112have been actuated to clear the light beam, a later-describedphotoelectric control unit is energized to initiate a loading of theassembled containers into the tiering chamber 34 (FIG. 1).

Referring to FIGS. 7 and 8, the can stop finger 110 is rigidly mountedon a support block 116. The support block 116 is adjustable axially of athreaded rod 118 which is engaged with a threaded aperture in the block,and slides on a guide rod 120.

The ends of the threaded rod 118 are rotatably mounted in spacedcarriage blocks 124 and 126, and the guide rod 120 is rigidly secured inthe carriage blocks. By turning a nut 130 fixed on one end of thethreaded rod 118, the support block 116 and the can stop finger 110mounted thereon are moved along the guide rod 120 to longitudinallyadjust the can stop finger 110 for the desired row length of cans to beaccumulated in the corresponding lane. It is believed apparent thatbecause the partitions 29 of two adjacent divider units 102 form thelateral limits of one lane of cans, the outermost divider unit at theleft side of the casing machine (viewed in a downstream direction) doesnot require a can stop finger 110 or a flag 112.

Each carriage block 124 and 126 depends from the support arm 82 in themanner shown for the carriage block 126 in FIG. 8. Thus, each carriageblock is provided with a central upstanding tab portion 125 that extendsupward into a downwardly open milled slot 127. The tab 125 is providedwith a diagonal slot 133 and is retained by a roller 134, mounted on apin 135, which is disposed in the slot. With this construction, theassembly including the carriage blocks 124 and 126, can stop finger 110,and the support block 116 gravitate to the upstream positionillustrated, but move downstream and diagonally upward when a lane ofcans pushes against the can stop 110. These movements control the flag112 to mask or unmask the light beam LB.

The flag 112 is pivoted to the support arm 82 by the pivot pin 135, andis pivoted to the carriage block 126 by a pivot stud 136. Accordingly,when the lane of cans pushes against the can stop finger 110, the pivotstud 136 is moved away from the pivot pin 135 and the flag 112 swingsabout the pin 135 out of the light beam LB, as indicated by the arrow1120..

The light beam LB originates from a photoelectric unit 137 (FIG. 3)which includes an integral lamp and receiving element and is mounted onone of the frame members 86. The

projected light beam LB is received by a reflector 139 which returns thebeam to the receiving element of the photoelectric unit 137. Since thelight beam is interrupted by any one of the flags 112 in rest position,thus indicating that one or more lanes of cans is not yet complete, thephotoelectric unit generates a control signal only when the separator 28accumulates a complete tier of cans. The signal from the photoelectricunit 137 energizes an adjacent solenoid 140 which is turn causes clutch50 (FIG. 4) to engage and initiate the tiering cy-' cle.

Rocking Differential As previously indicated, the set of tiering fingersunderlying the cans in the separator are smoothly accelerated upward topick up cans from the separator and are smoothly decelerated as the cansare deposited in the tiering chamber by the tiering fingers. In theillustrated embodiment of the invention this smooth acceleration anddeceleration is performed by the rocking differential 62 (FIGS. 4, 9 and9A).

The rocking differential 62 provides a variable-speed drive connectionfrom the tiering input shaft 46 to the tiering shaft 66, via rotation ofa pair of bevel gears 141 and 142 which are meshed with a spider gear144. When the solenoid 140 (FIG. 3) actuates the tiering clutch 50 (FIG.4) to transfer one tier of cans from the separator 28 (FIG. 1) to thetiering chamber 34, the tiering shaft 66 is turned 120 by the rockingdif ferential 62 and the drive train including sprockets 63 and 64, andthe chain 67. During each tier transfer cycle, the spider gear 144 (FIG.9) of the rocking differential is first translated about the axis of theshaft 46 in the direction of the arrow 1440 to subtract motion from thedrive chain 67 while the tiering fingers 36 lift the cans from theseparator 28. While the lifting movement continues, the spider gear 144is then'moved bodily in the opposite direction, indicated by the arrow144b, to add motion to the drive chain 67 and accelerate the tieringfingers. During the tiering cycle, the rate of motion of the spider gearin the direction of the arrow 144b is reduced to decelerate the tieringfingers and then reversed to bring the fingers to a smooth stop.

Referring to FIGS. 9 and 9A, both the gear 141 at the input side of thedifferential and the differential cam 61 are keyed to the tiering inputshaft 46. The gear 142 at the output side is pinned to the sprocket 63.The gear 142 and the sprocket 63 rotate together freely on the shaft 46,so that their motion can be modified by fore-and-aft motion of thespider gear 144.

The spider gear 144 rotates on a stub shaft 146 that projects from aspider gear hub 148, and the hub rotates freely on the shaft 46. Thus,oscillation of the spider gear hub 148 will add to and subtract from thedrive motion transmitted from the shaft 46, by means of the gears 141,144 and 142, in accordance with known principles of differentialgearing.

The oscillation of the spider gear hub 148 is provided by thedifferential cam 61 and associated linkage, as will now be described.The cam has a track 151 which is eccentric to the shaft 46. A camfollower 152 rides in the cam track and hence oscillates a cam followerlever 154 which is pivoted to the frame of the machine by a pivot shaft156.

The lower end of the cam lever 154 is pivoted at 157 to one end of a camlink 158. The other end of the cam link is pivoted at 159 to a cam crank160. The crank 160 depends from one end of a sleeve 162 that turnsfreely on the power shaft 42.

Depending from the other end of the sleeve 162 is a companion crank 163which is pivoted at 164 to one end of a spider link 165. The other endof the spider link is pivoted at 166 to a spider crank 167 that dependsfrom the spider gear hub 148.

Rotation of the tiering shaft 46 one revolution, by actuation of thetiering clutch 50 (FIG. 4) turns the differential cam 61 one revolution,the eccentric thus driving the cam lever 154 between its two limits ofswinging movement. This movement of the cam lever oscillates the spidergear hub 148 and the spider gear 144 fore and art via the cam link 158,cam crank I60, sleeve 162, companion crank 163, spider link and spidercrank 167.

The oscillation of the spider gear 144 is superimposed on the motiontransmitted by the spider gear 144 to the chain 67 so that the tieringshaft 66 (FIG. 4) rotates with nonuniform motion to accelerate anddecelerate the tiering fingers 32 in the manner previously described.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the speed change in revolutions per minuteof the differential output gear 142, and hence the rotation of the shaft66 which carries the tiering fingers 32, during one rotation of thedifferential input gear 141. FIG. 10A illustrates the relation of thedifferential cam 61 to the FIG. 10 diagram; the degree markings on thecam are the same degree markings of the base line of the FIG. 10diagram. Reference should also be made to the later-described FIG. 22which illustrates the can transfer operation of the tiering fingers 32.The abscissa of FIG. 10 is marked in 90 increments for one completerevolution of the input gear 141 and the differential cam 61. The speedof the input gear 141 is seen to be 60 r.p.m. from the scale along theleft margin of the diagram. Starting at 0 the differential cam 61rotates at 60 r.p.m. upon energization of the tiering clutch 50 to drivethe shaft 46. From the 0 reference point (FIG. 10A) the cam follower 152moves toward the shaft 46, whereby the spider gear hub 148 (FIG. 9) isdriven rearward in the direction off the arrow 144a. This subtracts fromthe linear speed of the chain 67 which powers the tiering fingers sothat the tiering fingers start slowly from their rest positions. It willbe seen that the 0-90 quadrant of the cam track 151 will decelerate themovement of the differential hub 148 in the direction of the arrow 144a.Accordingly, the output gear 142 gradually accelerates from 0 to 90 Thelowest point of the cam track 151 is at 90, and the cam follower 152 isat its extreme of movement inwardly toward the shaft 46. Accordingly, at90 the spider hub 148 is briefly motionless and the differential 62transmits the full 60-r.p.m. rotation of the input shaft 46 to theoutput gear 142. Translated into movement of the tiering fingers 32(FIG. 1), this means that the tiering fingers underlying the charge ofcans in the separator 28 rapidly accelerate after contacting the cans atthe beginning portion of the can transfer movement.

Between 90 and 180, the cam follower 152 moves outward from the shaft 46and drives the spider hub 148 (FIG. 9) forward in the direction of thearrow 144b. This adds to the linear speed of the chain 67 which powersthe tiering fingers. It will be noted that the 90180 portion of the camtrack 151 is symmetrical with the -90 portion. Consequently, the 90- 180rotation of the output gear 142 smoothly accelerates the tiering fingersfrom 60 r.p.m. to their maximum speed of 120 r.p.m. as the cam 65rotates to its 180 position. It should be noted that the hub 148 at thistime has not attained its forward limit of movement in the direction ofthe arrow 144b.

From 180 to 270, the cam follower 152 continues to move outward, and thehub 148 forward, although at a reduced rate. Therefore, the speed of theoutput gear 142 is reduced from its maximum at 180 of cam rotation dueto the reduced rate of forward rotation of spider hub 148. At 270 thecam follower 152 has reached its maximum outward excursion and thespider hub 148 is again stationary, as at 90, transmitting the 60-r.p.m.input gear rotation to the output gear 142.

As the cam follower moves from 270' back to 0, the spider hub 148 ismoved rearward in the direction of the arrow 144a and reduces the speedof the output gear 142 from 60 r.p.m. to 0 r.p.m. The tiering fingersduring this latter movement thus decelerate the can charge as it isdeposited in the tiering chamber 34.

With regard to the magnitude and rate of translation of the hub 148about the shaft 46, it is pointed out that in any differential it isinherent that the spider gear will translate at onehalf the rotationalspeed of one side gear when the other side gear is held. In the presentcase, it is to be noted that the cam follower lever 154 provides motionamplification such that the cam track 151 translates the spider gear hub148 at half the velocity of the shaft 46 at 0 and at 180 in the cycle.Because the direction of movement of the hub is opposite at these pointsin the cycle, the output speed varies from 0 r.p.m. to 120, r.p.m. ortwice the input speed of the shaft 46, and is readily provided for bymeans of the motion-amplifying linkage and cam arrangement shown.

The shifter 26 (FIGS. 1 and 4) and the rocking differential 62 are bothdriven from the shaft 46 in timed relation to each other. As shown inFIG. 10, the shifter stroke is initiated during the initial 40 ofrotation of the input shaft 46. During this period, the tiering fingers32 rotate only about 1 about the tiering shaft 66. Thus, the initialslow acceleration of the tiering fingers 32 allows sufficient time forthe shifter 26 to block incoming cans so that the cans in the separator28 are isolated before they are picked up by the tiering fingers.

Tiering The tiering steps (FIG. 1) comprise lifting the assembled tierof upright cans from the separator 28 and depositing the tier on edge inthe tiering chamber 34 so that the cans are in a substantiallyhorizontal position.

As best shown in FIG. 4, each of the three sets of tiering fingers 32are mounted on a cross-shaft 68. One tiering finger is provided for eachlane of cans, and the cross-shafts 68 are rotatably mounted in twospaced spiders 65 that are secured to the tiering shaft 66. A bellcrank170 is attached to each cross-shaft and is provided with followerrollers 174 and 176 which engage a fixed tiering cam 172. As the tieringshaft 66 rotates the spiders 65, the bellcranks 170 pivot thecrossshafts 68 and the attached tiering fingers 32 in the mannerillustrated in FIGS. 22-26. For this purpose, the cam rollers 174 andsuccessively engage a cam track 178 and a cam track 180 of the tieringcam 172.

Referring to FIG. 22 and the same can transfer movement mentioned inconjunction with FIG. 10, the lower cam' follower l76 engages the track178 and pivots the cross-shaft 68 and the tiering fingers 32 intoposition to pick up the tier of cans C from the separator 28 fortransfer to the tiering chamber 34. The cam follower 174 of this sameset of tiering fingers 32 later engages the track 180 and serves topivot the tiering fingers (as illustrated for the leading set of fingers32) rearwardly away from the cans. Thus, the tier of cans is depositedon a plurality of slats 182 that form the floor of the tiering chamber34, and the fingers retract while lowering to prevent disturbing thedelivered cans. The can transfer cycle is sequentially illustrated inFIGS. 22 through 24.

An adjustable thumb 183 (FIG. 22) is secured in a selected positionalong each tiering finger 32 to support the cans C as they are rotatedthrough 90 from the upright position at the right of FIG. 22, to thelying-down position at the top of FIG. 22. J

The tiering chamber 34 has side retaining plates 181 (shown in phantomin FIGS. 1, 2 and 3) which extend upward and downstream from the outsidepartitions 29 of the separator. The retaining plates 181 serve to retainand guide the containers as they are lifted from the separator 28 anddeposited on the floor of the tiering chamber.

The rearward portion of each slat 182 (FIG. 18) of the tiering chamberfloor has a slot 1820 which provides clearance for the tiering fingers32. The slats 182 are bolted to a crossmember 184 having a longitudinalslot 185 to allow lateral adjustment of the slats when the machine isreadjusted to accommodate various container sizes.

Pusher Feet FIG. 11 is a perspective of the pusher mechanism, lookingfrom below, which inserts the tiers of cans into a case.

When the desired number of tiers have been assembled in the tieringchamber 34, the single revolution clutch 52 (FIG. 4) is activated by alater-described control circuit. The pusher feet 36 are moved throughthe path shown by the arrow 36a in FIGS. 24-26. This path is determinedby the pusher stroke and the pusher lift cams 74 and 70 (FIG. 4) thatare mounted on the pusher-lowerator shaft 48.

The pusher stroke follower arm 75 (FIGS. 1 and 4) pivots about a shaft185 and oscillates a pusher stroke arm 186 that is connected to a pusherstroke carriage 188 by a lengthwise ad-.

justable link 189. One side of the carriage 188 (FIGS. 11 and 11A) isslidably mounted on a horizontal guide rod 190 and the'other side of thecarriage is supported by means of a roller 191 seated in a fixedhorizontal guideway 192. The stroke carriage 188 is thus mounted forfore-and-aft movement, but is adequately restrained in all otherdirections. A square section pusher foot shaft 194 has end portionsrotatably mounted in pillow blocks 195 on the carriage 188.

The lower end of the pusher lift rod 72 (FIGS. 4 and 11) is pivotallyconnected to the pusher lift lever 73, and the upper end of the lift rod72 is pivotally attached to a pusher lift carriage 198.

The pusher lift carriage 198 (FIG. 11) includes a horizontal guideway200, and is vertically slidable on a pair of vertical guide rods 202.The carriage 198 oscillates the pusher foot shaft 194 to raise and lowerthe pusher feet 36. For this purpose, the shaft 194 is provided with acrank arm 204 having a roller mounted in the vertically reciprocableguideway 200. The horizontal guideway 200 allows the pusher feet 36 tobe moved horizontally without affecting their vertical motion.Therefore, the vertical motion of the pusher feet can be variedindependent of their horizontal movement.

FIG. 12 graphically illustrates the path of the pusher feet 36.Following the linear pushing stroke, the pusher feet retract slightlybefore following the arcuate return stroke. The significance of thisretraction, as shown in FIG. 26, is that the

1. Apparatus for loading cases with containers supplied by a multiplerow continuous supply line of the type comprising a multirow containerseparator having laterally spaced cantilever arms projecting from acrossmember in the direction of container movement for receiving apredetermined number of containers from the supply line, means forintermittently blocking the container supply line to form a tier groupof containers in said separator, a container stop individual to each rowof said separator, a flag for each stop, means adjustably connecting theflags and stops for moving the flag when the row is filled, an energybeam projected along a path that is eclipsed by each of said flags inone flag position, and a control unit responsive to the conditions ofsaid beam for actuating said blocking means when the flags are all movedbecause all of the rows are filled; the improvement comprising pivotalsupports for said container stops near the free ends of said separatorarms, said stops having extensions that project below thecontainer-supporting surfaces of said separator arms, said flags beingdisposed below the container-supporting surfaces of said separator armsand near the arm crossmember, and flag-operating rods running betweenthe container stop extensions and the flags beneath the separator arms.2. The loAding apparatus of claim 1, wherein said pivotal supports areslidably mounted beneath said separator arms, said flag-operating rodscomprising an adjusting screw interconnecting said pivotal supports andsaid flags.
 3. Apparatus for loading cases with containers from a supplylane of the type having a frame, a multilane feed conveyor with lanedividers that supply the containers in a predetermined number of lanes,a tier former having a row of can-supporting arms projecting from saidframe, separator partitions on said arms and aligned with said lanedividers; a shifter between said lane dividers and said separatorpartitions, said shifter having a plurality of partitions of the samespacing as that of said separator partitions and said lane dividers; andmeans for laterally shifting said shifter back and forth over apredetermined stroke sufficient to cause said shifter partitions toblock the further passage of containers from the supply lane dividersinto the lanes between said separator partitions, the improvementcomprising means for adjustably mounting said tier former arms on saidframe for varying the spacing between said separator partitions, saidadjustable mounting means comprising a slotted tie bar on said frame,and clamp bolts on said arms for adjustably mounting the arms along withtheir separator partitions along the slot in said tie bar, means forcorrespondingly varying the spacing between said shifter partitions, andmeans for varying the stroke of the shifting means for said shifter foraccommodating variations in the spacing of said separator and saidshifter partitions.
 4. Apparatus for loading cases with containers froma supply lane of the type having a frame, a multilane feed conveyor withlane dividers that supply the containers in a predetermined number oflanes, a tier former having a row of can-supporting arms projecting fromsaid frame, separator partitions on said arms and aligned with said lanedividers; a shifter between said lane dividers and said separatorpartitions, said shifter having a plurality of partitions of the samespacing as that of said separator partitions and said lane dividers; andmeans for laterally shifting said shifter back and forth over apredetermined stroke sufficient to cause said shifter partitions toblock the further passage of containers from the supply lane dividersinto the lanes between said separator partitions, the improvementcomprising means for adjustably mounting said tier former arms on saidframe for varying the spacing between said separator partitions, meansfor correspondingly varying the spacing between said shifter partitions,and means for varying the stroke of the shifting means for said shifterfor accommodating variations in the spacing of said separator and saidshifter partitions, said means for laterally shifting said shifter andthe means for varying the stroke of the latter comprising an oscillatingshifter bar for mounting said shifter partitions, a bracket member onsaid shifter bar, a rotating shifter cam, a cam follower lever memberconnected to said cam and to said bracket member, and means for varyingthe effective length of said lever member.
 5. The apparatus of claim 4,wherein said means for varying the effective length of said lever membercomprises a row of adjustment holes in one of said members, a followerpositionable in one of said holes, and means for causing said followerto interconnect said members.